Holiday Tree Dedications

Finding the perfect gift for family and friends around the holidays can be a grueling endeavor. Everyone expects to get what’s on their Christmas list so they don’t have to stand in the Returns line the day after Christmas. But there’s a way to give a meaningful gift that anyone would love without standing in any lines. TreePeople of Los Angeles suggests gifting a tree this year. Ordering a dedication tree offers a long lasting gift that people all over the state of California can enjoy for years to come.

Each year, thousands of gift trees are ordered through TreePeople, as well as other gift tree websites, and are becoming a popular gift for all occasions. Gifting a tree not only makes a wonderful gift for the holidays, it can also commemorate a special occasion such as an anniversary, birthday, new birth, or dedication to a lost loved one.

A gift tree is also an eco-conscious contribution to restoring the local environment and involving friends and family in the rebuilding of our nation’s forests. TreePeople, based in Los Angeles, have received donations from residents as far as San Diego who have donated trees to honor their loved ones, in an effort to revitalize the Angeles National Forest in California. The donations help plant new trees as well as maintain trees that have been donated already.

Though TreePeople doesn’t know exactly where your tree will be planted, and can’t guarantee a specific location, all dedication trees are planted within in the park woodlands and mountain forests of the Angeles National Forest. The area has been chosen because of deforestation caused by wildfires, neglect, and other natural causes. Because so many trees are donated throughout the year, it’s not possible to put markers on every tree, but participation is encouraged. If you’d like to make your gift exceptionally special, tree planting events are open to dedicators and recipients.

During the holiday season, each donation is given special attention by presenting your honoree with a personalized greeting card and a certificate of announcement as a token of gratitude.

This year think outside the big box stores and celebrate the future of our planet. Tree donations start at $25 and multiple trees can be donated at a discount. Perhaps you’re looking for a way to involve your friends and family in green efforts – donating a tree is a great way to show them how they can make a difference.

Redecorate For Wildlife - Feed Wild Birds

Now that the holiday season is over, it’s time to start taking down the lights and decorations that adorn our trees and shrubs. Soon we will be left with nothing but bare branches until the leaves come in during the spring, left with nothing to do until the all-important tree maintenance season. Wouldn’t it be nice to fill that empty space with something beautiful and beneficial to local wildlife? Consider swapping out those holiday ornaments for some tasty bird snacks that look great and are definitely fun to make!

Popcorn Garland

Remember sitting at home on those chilly winter evenings stringing popcorn garland to adorn the tree? Well, that favorite family activity can be adapted to entice all kinds of winter birds to your yard. These attractive and nutritious decorations simply require threading your standard unsalted popcorn through a string of raffia with a large needle. Raffia is attractive and durable, but also safe for birds to peck. To make the popcorn more appealing, you can roll the kernels in peanut butter and coat with all-natural wild bird feed, or even tie sprays of millet for a more ornamental approach.

Seed Bulbs

This one takes inspiration from the decorative bulbs often hung on holiday trees. Spruce up your hedges with pinecones rolled in black sunflower, corn, millet seed, and safflower for a colorful outdoor ornament. Remember to hang any decoration with raffia, which will degrade over time unlike fishing wire which presents an entanglement hazard. If you want to get creative, hang festive looking apple rings for color, or hollowed out half oranges filled with unsalted peanuts.

Be Creative!

Anything that is safe for birds to eat can be smeared with peanut butter and covered in quality birdseed. This may include stale bagels and grapes that have gone past their prime. To really spice up your gorgeous trees, add sections of winterberry, staff vine, and holly sprigs. Birds will seek out anything fresh and full of moisture- since water is much harder to come by in the winter than food is. Regardless, your outdoor visitors will absolutely love livening up your property with the cheerful chirping of full bellies!

Winter Care for Potted Evergreens

The holiday season is almost over, and green households all over the nation will soon be left with potted evergreens and no idea what to do with them during remainder of winter. Fortunately, the process of overwintering an evergreen is an inexpensive weekend project will ensure your investment is protected even during the harshest weather. Nobody wants to spend all winter fretting over his or her dying evergreen, so prepare your tree for the worst!

Choosing a Spot

Find an area of your yard that provides protection from harsh western winds and potentially damaging southern sun, erecting a trellis or wind barrier if nothing else is available. Make sure that your chosen location is far away from any roads or sidewalks that will be treated with salt because these plants are extremely sensitive to the substance- even in the air.

Overwintering the Evergreen

Even plastic pots can shatter because of freezing temperature, which is why the container of an overwintered evergreen must be buried in the ground. This will keep temperatures stable and the roots will remain safe. Be sure that the hole is just deep enough for the edges of the container to be level with the ground to prevent water accumulation, and make the area flat with some loose soil and autumn leaves.

Maintenance and Care

Since moisture loss is a real danger to potted evergreens it’s important to keep an eye out for those above-freezing days on which it would be safe to water the plant. If the plant is sustaining too much damage from the cold climate, it may be necessary to wrap the entire tree in a burlap sack. If the weather is just too extreme, the pot and plant may be moved inside a dark garage or a cold cellar. Your evergreens will certainly appreciate the effort and will live to see another beautiful spring!

Unusual Green Christmas Gift Ideas

It may seem like every website on the internet comes out with a green gifts guide every single year, full of products that may look great, but aren’t really that green. I’ll tell you why: although a product was “responsibly crafted” with “recycled materials”, they’re still going to have to ship it a great distance to get where it’s going. Nothing against the products- they’re usually wonderful and unique gift ideas. But those who really want to go green for the holidays need to be a little more creative.

Experiences

Don’t you hate it when you’re trying to shop for somebody that seems to have it all? An environmentally friendly solution to this common dilemma is to forego the traditional gift altogether. That sounds crazy, right? Instead of actually wrapping a present this year, a great alternative is to purchase tickets to a local event, or a gift card to a nearby restaurant. 

Not only will these experiences last much longer in the memories of the recipient but the travel required for them to get to their destination will take a load off the environment compared to the shipping and manufacturing resources consumed with a traditional gift. This could be a great chance to stimulate the local economy while showing support for grassroots businesses of the area! Local businesses are already hard-hit during the holiday season, when consumers choose to buy from lower-cost mainstream retailers.

From the Heart

Hand-made gifts have a bad reputation for being cheesy, but that’s only because of the immediate mental images that depict macaroni-postcards and popsicle-stick picture frames. These gifts are cute coming from a kid and unfortunately that’s not the impression that most of us want to make. Instead of going the craft route, try a more thoughtful idea. Collecting pictures of the recipient and making a scrap book using recycled scrap paper, or creating a gift basket full of candles, homemade candy, and dried aromatic local flowers may be a great choice. 

Don’t forget the power of words: instead of sending out the usual Christmas card, make your next batch personal and special. Even if you can’t write poems or draw, a funny story or anecdote from shared experiences may make the recipient smile with a gift from the past. A checklist of favors that can be claimed at any time, including babysitting, lawn care, or dog-walking duty, can really mean a lot to busy working couples or the elderly recipient of the family. Those who haven’t broken into the green lifestyle yet may appreciate a few seeds and a little equipment to start a garden.

Eco-Giving

If you just can’t avoid purchasing a store-bought item as a Christmas gift, at least make the giving experience a little more green. Wrapping paper often contains harmful dyes or foils that can pollute the environment in the case that any escapes the dump. Recycling paper is always possible but why not recycle something that you already have instead? The comic section of the newspaper is a great idea for young ones, but any other section can be spiced up with a little bit of ribbon for a nostalgic effect. 

Don’t be afraid to urge your family and friends to use this advice when buying for you as well. Many environmentalists don’t know how to handle receiving a totally un-green gift, so save your friends and family the wasted money. Of course a gift can never go unappreciated, but why not give a little something back to the environment while you’re at it?

How to Attract Winter Birds

Nothing makes a chilly winter morning brighter than a yard full of colorful chirping birds. Those who don’t seem to get any wild visitors may wonder how to persuade our feathered friends to make an appearance. The truth is that they’ll come running (well, flying) once you set out the right incentives. Even those who live in the city don’t have to miss out on unexpected seasonal company. In fact, no matter where you live winter birds often have the hardest time finding quality food and water and will certainly appreciate your generous resources. Whether you are decorating a balcony window or a yard, it’s cheap and easy to attract a variety of cheerful species that will be your own personal choir for the holidays.  

Benefits

In much of North America the winter nights are long, days are short, and food is scarce for local wildlife. Insects are generally dead or dormant, inaccessible to birds that eat them at their number one fat and caloric intake. Hanging bites to eat from your native trees will encourage the spread of seeds and berries to the local ecosystem after the bird takes off, while providing safe windbreak in the mean time. Ensuring that winter bird needs are met will keep local populations well-fed and healthy, for your enjoyment on frosty winter days with the family or over a cup of coffee.

Food

To attract a wide variety of bird, you’ll need an equally diverse availability of seed. Cheap mixes should be avoided, because the cost is still much too high for the low-quality content. Fillers are often used that the birds don’t eat, which becomes food for squirrels or just rots on the ground. Black sunflower seeds are great for attracting all kinds of birds, including blue jays, goldfinches, chickadees, and cardinals. Suet is a fatty byproduct of beef or venison, unfit for human consumption but perfect for wild birds. It must always be hung as not to attract other mammals. Bird feeders can be constructed out of household waste, like two-liter bottles or biodegradable cardboard tubes.

Water

Winter birds often suffer more from lack of fresh, unfrozen water than they do from scarcity of food. A solar powered heater can be purchased for traditional birdbaths. Heat lamps are perfect for the occasional melt, if the birdbath is located under a closed roof. The hassle can be eliminated by simply pouring some warm water over the ice when the sun is the strongest and watch as the birds congregate for a nice drink and dip!

Attracting winter birds is made much easier by simply providing the all-around complete package. Planting hardy evergreen trees will ensure that birds thrive for your company and enjoyment all year long. Winter isn't the only time that our feathery friends can benefit from a little helping hand, but it certainly isn't a bad time to start.

A Sustainable Tree for Christmas

When you imagine a sustainable Christmas tree, you probably think of a plastic tree that can be reused from year to year. In all reality the greenest way to go is all natural. That's right, in order to have a sustainable Christmas I am suggesting that your family goes out to cut down a tree. Sounds counter intuitive? There are several good reasons to skip the false and go straight for what nature so graciously gave us.

Downfall of the Reusable Tree

Although this seems like it would be a great green Christmas idea, those fake trees are actually made of PVC (a petroleum product) that becomes tattered and dusty over the years. The majority of imitation pines purchased for the holidays are actually thrown out after just two years! Since they are made of plastic the tree will end up taking up space in a landfill forever. That's right, discarded artificial trees are made of material that will never degrade despite the expensive resources that went into the production.

Keepin' It Real

Real pines are grown primarily on farms, where they mature for several years before being cut down. The entire time that these trees are growing they are creating fresh oxygen and habitats for local creatures. With the rise of artificial trees these farms are being put out of business and the property ends up being paved over or turned into a less sustainable industry. Live Christmas trees can be purchased and potted whole to be replanted in your own yard, turning that seasonal decoration into a lifetime investment. Another benefit of real trees is that they they are often mulched and recycled in many communities, going to a better use than a landfill.

Wishing for a Green Christmas

This year, instead of dusting off the old PVC pre-lit tree, go on a family adventure to a Christmas tree farm. Everybody gets to work together to pick out the most beautiful live tree that will fill your home with a fresh pine scent that just can't be bought in a can. Technology often improves our life, but this Christmas let's get back to the basics. A live tree is a sustainable tree- nature's gift to us for the holidays.